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This website was created and maintained by me, Maggie Fesenmaier, a doctoral student at the University of Washington. This website is part of my ongoing research to better understand Internet adoption in The Republic of Moldova. There is also a survey on this site that, if you are Moldovan, I encourage you to please take!

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Meet Maggie

This website was created and maintained by me, Maggie Fesenmaier, a doctoral student at the University of Washington. This website is part of my research to better understand Internet adoption in The Republic of Moldova. There is also a survey on this site that, if you are Moldovan, I encourage you to please take!
My Background:
My family currently lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, though we spent a good deal of time moving around. I generally grew up amongst the cornfields of Illinois and moved to PA my senior year of high school. I attended and graduated from Penn State (WE ARE…). Immediately following graduation I left for the Moldova with the U.S. Peace Corps.
For nearly two years I was based in a northern Moldovan village, near the Ukrainian boarder. I had the most amazing mama gazda and partners that helped me teach health classes in the local high school. Though challenging at times, it was an experience I’ll never forget. The entire village took me in, taught me Romanian, showed me the culture, and, most importantly, fed me (I’ve since tried making pelemeni and mama liga, but it doesn’t compare)! Though far from home, I loved my time in Moldova and it sparked my curiosity and passion for helping the community.
Following a year in politics, I came back to school for my Master’s degree (and fingers crossed, PhD). Generally, my work focuses on how communication technology influences knowledge/information adoption by society. There is still a great deal of research that needs to be done to further our understanding of how we accept knowledge and technology. As researchers learn more about our acceptance habits, I’m confident we can also craft more effective information campaigns that truly help society.
I frequently get asked, why Moldova?! There are many reasons:
Primarily, I owe my host-family and friends a great deal of gratitude! They lovingly (and patiently) taught me a new culture that will always impact my life. Also, however, Moldova is a global leader in immigrant remittances. Each year Moldovans flood into the international job-market and send home money and goods to family. According to the G8 this behavior is to be encouraged in other developing nations. Thus, much of the developing world will follow the Moldovan lead. Possibly, if we can understand the role of technology in information spread in Moldova, then we'll have a jump on understanding the same phenomenon in other nations as well.
My time in Moldova and out experiencing the world have encouraged and fueled my studies. I’m thankful everyday that Dragos wandered away and founded the amazing nation of Moldova! If you have any more questions about me or this project please don’t hesitate to contact me. La revedere.